Read Planning a New Website - Part 1
After you’ve completed the first part of the planning process you now have a good understanding of what you really want out of your website and what content you want it to contain. At this point you’re already doing better than most people that launch a new site, but there’s still a little bit more planning that you can do to make the process even smoother and more successful.
The aspects of planning that are covered in this post are more related to the makeup of the actual website, whereas yesterday we looked at goals and big picture aspects of the plan.
Parts of the Design Process that Should Be Planned:
1. Colors
If you are designing a website for an existing business, chances are the business already has established websites, which can make this step easy. If the business does already have colors you will want to use them in the design in order to help with branding and recognition.
If the business does not have an exisiting color scheme, or if you need to choose some secondary or complimentary colors to use in addition to the standard business colors, this is something that should be given considerable thought. Not only can the colors drastically impact the look and appearance of the site, but they can also impact visitors psychologically. For more information regarding the psychology of colors and for a list of some great tools for choosing colors, read Find the Perfect Colors for Your Website.
2. Logo
Once again, if you’re woking on a site for an established busines you may be in luck. Obviously, you will want to use any existing logo (unless it’s due for a re-design itself) in the new website. If there is no existing logo you can either create one yourself or look into getting one professionally designed. It’s good to know at least the size and colors of a logo beforehand so you can plan accordingly. If the site is completely designed and then you try to stick in a logo someone it can look cramped or out of place.
3. Slogans and Catch Phrases
Any slogans or sayings that the business uses in its other marketing efforts should also be used on the website. All of the first three items listed here will help you to give your customers a consistent message that will help them to shape their observations and opinions of your business.
4. Layout
Most designers prefer to skecth out a design (or some create Photoshop files) before actually starting to code. In order to create a layout that will successfully work for a site you’ll need to consider the contents of the pages as well. For example, you don’t want to spend your time creating a beautiful three column layout only to find that a two column layout is more suitable for the content of the pages.
5. Structure of the Site
On top of deciding on a layout, you also will want to decide the basic structure of the site. The structure refers to how the pages are connected. What primary pages will you have? Typically there will be a Homepage, About Us, Contact Us, Products or Services, FAQ, etc. Under Services you may have 3 secondary pages that describe each of the services you offer, and so on.
Knowing how you want to structure the site will help you to design more effectively. The site will flow better, and navigation will be more logical. This is very important since your visitors will need to be able to move through the site without much effort.
6. Navigation
Navigation is one of the most important aspects of design. First of all, navigation menus are often focal points of a design that give a page a more attractive visual appearance. More importantly, the functionality of the navigation will impact each one of your visitors. In the previous step you figured out the basic structure of your website. The navigation on each page should link to all of your primary, or most important, pages. Secondary pages will probably be linked from the appropriate primary pages.
7. Photos and Images
When you planned a basic layout you probably left some space for images and graphics. Finding the right picture is another important part of the design. If you’re on a tight budget there are several places where you can find free stock photography. If you’re willing to spend a few dollars, you can easily find high quality photos for very low prices. See our post on Stock Photography Resources.
You now have a good portion of the work done, and best of all, it’s been done in an organized and strategic process. With this type of approach you’ll spend less time making changes and fixing problems. If you have an existing website you may also want to do some analytical work during the process. Google Analytics provides some useful information about your visitors that can be used when making some design decisions. For example, you can find out:
- What speed of internet connections your visitors are using (very helpful for determining how many photos, videos and extras you should include).
- What screen resolution they have (helpful for deciding on a width for your site).
- What browser they’re using (you need to make sure your site works in at least the most commonly used browsers).
If you have an idea or a project that you’ve been thinking about, now it’s time to take some action and start planning. Good luck.
19 comments from readers
1 chipseo Oct 31, 2007 at 10:22 pm
Thanks for another great post… I do think images and graphics are probably one of the most important aspects of a site selling a product or service.
If you can’t take or create your own, spend a little money to have a professional looking site. Scott
2 Vandelay Design Oct 31, 2007 at 10:27 pm
Hey Scott,
Thanks for your feedback, it’s appreciated. Yes, it’s amazing how much photos can affect the look of a site. They can either make an average design look really good or really bad. Quality photos are so cheap, but it can be a pain trying to find the right one sometimes.
3 Aquil Akhter Nov 1, 2007 at 12:52 am
Well its nice sharing! thanx
4 Wayne Smallman Nov 1, 2007 at 4:23 am
Throughout all 7 points, there’s plenty to be said about infusing good SEO into things.
Additionally, from a corporate angle (but this does really depend on the clients you’re dealing with), much of 1-3 and parts of 4 will be subject to the Corporate Guidelines of your client, which will be treated as sacrosanct.
Also, I know of many design agencies that routinely lift images from Google Images to use in their web designs. This is pretty bad, and as tempting as that kind of thing may be, it’s not the way to go.
And finally, if there was to be a point 8, would it be Testing?
5 Wayne Liew Nov 1, 2007 at 9:07 am
I always wanted a logo but for all my current blogs, they don’t have a logo. What do you see on sites that doies not own a logo.
I know logo is important for a business but is it important for a blog? I dio have a favicon, maybe you should add favicon to the list.
6 Wayne Smallman Nov 1, 2007 at 9:27 am
If you’re serious about ‘blogging, then it’s a question of personal branding.
Some guys just go for the type form logo, like Microsoft, IBM, Sony et al. Whereas some go for the logo form, too, like Apple, Nike, Timberland et al…
7 Michael from Pro Blog Design Nov 1, 2007 at 3:03 pm
Great series Steven. One other point that I would add in is advertising and such. A lot of the bloggers who can afford to buy a blog design are running adverts, and the ads are crucial for them. You have to be careful with them when setting out a layout.
8 Andrew - call center consultant Nov 1, 2007 at 4:47 pm
Having a custom logo created is a great decision. It does cost a little money up front, but it will provide great benefits to your brand!
9 Vandelay Design Nov 1, 2007 at 6:35 pm
Wayne S.,
You’re right about SEO. It needs to be considered. My thought is that of the topics covered here it should be a biggest part of your decision making on the structure of the site and the navigation. I guess testing could also be listed, it’s definitely important. That wasn’t included in the post because I think of that as coming towards the end of the process, not in the planning, but really testing is part of the entire process.
Wayne L.,
I think it’s good to have a logo to help you stand out from the other blogs. A logo doesn’t have to be fancy, it can simply be your blog title created in Photoshop with a different text. I think Wayne’s right, it’s all about branding.
Michael,
Good point. Advertisements don’t work on most sites unless they’re accounted for in the design. Otherwise they’ll be out of place.
Andrew,
I think you can get a basic logo pretty cheap in a lot of places. Some of the forums are filled with people who will do it. Of course you get what you pay for, but a cheaper logo to start off with my work for a while and then a more expensive/professional one may be appropriate down the road when it’s more affordable.
10 Sauna Nov 1, 2007 at 9:37 pm
Plan makes a man perfect. By planning half of the work can be done. Thanks for your guidelines.
11 Glenn alvarez Nov 3, 2007 at 5:00 am
hi, everyday there are many websites that are being made . It is very important for a person to make his website look different & interesting .
I guess being innovative is one of the most important factors. Images & catchy slogans can make your website very very interesting .
Good Day
12 2007-11-03 Saturday Links Folder : Freelance Folder Nov 3, 2007 at 5:48 am
[…] Planning a New Website - Part 1 - Part II […]
13 Ross at Hatchthat Nov 3, 2007 at 11:18 pm
I find that getting the content together is the most time consuming part - especially if you are setting up a blog where you intend to do it regularly. It is good to run a test to see if you can do it on a regular basis before you invest too much in templates I think.
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